Cats Scratching on Doorways

I love the other ideas. As long as the cats have an acceptable place to scratch and you can draw them to it, you can use double stick tape on the door for awhile. Cats usually hate the feeling of their feet on the tape. good luck!

Maybe you could attach a scratching pad to the part of the door they scratch at, that should protect the door and still allow them to tell you when they need to go out. :)

Hi L.!

I'm with the other moms here (as a matter of fact, at our house, I'm known as "Momcat").

The sisal rope scratching pads that you hang from a doorway are great. We have them at the doors, and also positioned strategically around the house on the floors. With a little coaxing, our cats have learned that they are the only places where they are permitted to scratch. Of course, the generous amount of catnip we've rubbed into the rope over the years goes a long way in encouraging them to use the boards. :-D

Scratching is a natural and important activity for cats. They use it for all kinds of communication purposes and to establish territory and pecking order.

For some helpful information about cats, check out http://www.indoorcatinitiative.com One of the vets at the Ohio State University has studied the behavior of indoor cats in depth and the web site has a lot of great information about how to keep indoor cats happy and well balanced.

Give your kitties some ear scratches for me!

Take a bit of carpeting and turn it around so the scratchy underside shows and attatch it to your doors where they scratch. Our cats LOVED this and it kept them from scratching our furniture, among other things. Cats seem to like the scratchy part and you can hear them when they need to go out, too.

We used sturdy clear packing tape. We just made a loop, and put it up. It didn't take longer than a week or two. It keeps them off our counters too. Every time they forget we just throw it up again for a day of two. Cats hate the stickiness of it and it doesn;t damage anything.

You could use a water bottle method or put a litter box in your home. Scratching is normal for cats. I know my cats go potty usualy about the same time of the day every day so maybe you could get the time estimated andd just put them out thus them not scratching up the door.

They sell cat scratchers that hang on the door knob at pet smart so I a sure you could find them at a pet store. Works great my cat Lucy absolutely loves hers. Good luck!

L.,

I know I'm a little late with this, as you've already had some great responses, but I have a different suggestion for you, for whatever it's worth.

We've always had cats, during our 31 years of marriage, and, at one point, had 8 at one time. We currently have 4

One of our cats, a Russian Blue insists upon scratching on the lower panel of our back door. He doesn't do it to indicate he needs to go outside, since all my cats are strictly indoor cats, and never go outside without being crated, or on a leash. The door
was just a place that he chose as his place to scratch@

After sanding and painting the bottom door panel several times, I came up with another solution. If you go to the hardware store, you can find pieces of hard plastic (the type that are used to replace the plastic in overhead fluorescent lights, like you would have in your kitchen. It comes clear, frosted, or in various raised designs. Have them cut it for you at the hardware store to the proper size to fit the door panel. Then bring it home, and very carefully drill a small hole in each corner of it. Let the drill do the work...don't press hard when you're drilling it, or it will crack.

Once you have the holes drilled, simply use screws to attach the four corners of it to the bottom of the door.

Most cats don't like the feel of it when they scratch on it, and even if they do scratch on it, the scratches won't show, because of the design in the plastic.

It looks very nice, will deter the cats, and if you have one that's stubborn, and continues to scratch at it, the scratches really don't show.

Just another suggestion for you to add to those you've already gotten!

Look into the cardboard scratching pads too, they are cheap and really attract my cats. When buying a scratching post, don't get the smallest little one foot post covered in carpet. These hardly ever are large enough for cats to do their streatching and scratching on. They need a tip-proof surface that is at least as long as they are long (all streatched out). Which is why cats are attracted to couches, chairs and door frames. Get those 3 feet tall cat condos, or other various scratching units. Get some toys on a string that you can tie to various parts of the condo and rotate the toys weekly. Each week use catnip spray or dried herbs to entice the cat to use the appropriate surface. The double sided tape is great and you can use large sheets of "contact paper" for large surfaces that you cat is wrongly attracted to.

If all else fails. You can get claw covers called "Soft Paws" that are like "Lee Press-On Nails" for cats. You trim the nail, add a dot of superglue to these specially cat shaped gel caps and press on the cats nail - hold for a few seconds and you're all set. These last for about 6-8 weeks and if used religiously for 4-6 months, can actually change habits of the cat. They learn to not use their claws at all.

Do they have a scratching post? Maybe providing them one will stop them from scratching on other things. Or try putting a homemade wood scratching post outside the door maybe they will use it instead of the doorway. They also make sprays to detour them from areas. Good Luck!

Double sided tape does not work. My cat loved it. Every day there were more and more tape and wood on the floor. Plus, because it is double sided, good luck removing any left over pieces off the walls.

As an RVT I had to add a couple points to this discussion. First, the comments that cats need to scratch is correct. It is a way to mark behavior and physically it helps them shed the outer layers of their nails. Cats need to scratch. Don't be discouraged if your cat isn't initially attracted to the post play with them on the post and reward them for scratching on the post.

But your question seems to lead me to belive the only way they will stop scratching on the door is to give them another signal to be let out. The bell is a good one. But remember anytime you let them out after scratching (even if you do this once after weeks) it will teach them to scatch to get your attention. So you need to ignore that signal and teach another. The bell might work or even getting them a cat door to let themselves out. Tap the bell in front of them and open the door. Try to anticipate when they usual ask to be let out. You don't want to wait until they need to go and relieve themselves and then ignore them to long. You could ignore the scratching, when they aren't scratching tap the bell and them let them out.

Sprinkle catnip in a box that 6 packs come in a flat cardboard type..they got nutty for it to scratch on.

All of the ideas that you have been given are excellent. Cats do need to scratch and they do need to communicate their need to go outside. In order to break the already established routine of scratching on the door, you can use a green apple spray that veterinarians recommend to deter scratching on furniture or woodwork. The green apple spray has a bitter taste that cats do not like. When it is sprayed on the spot where they are tempted to scratch, the cat will find that his/her paws taste awful afterwards. They will break the habit fast. The spray is supposed to be natural and not harmful to cats. Your alternatives with scratching post and bells at the door will make their life easier and yours.

I know this is also late, but basically the scratching is not on the furniture a a basic instinct, it is only their way of communicating to go outside - so, I would suggest buying a kitty door. They have ones at Home Depot that allow different lock settings - and they are created as to not let other creatures like squirrels in. This way your cats can come in and out at their leisure and will not have to scratch.

Sorry this is late, you may want to install a kitty door & show them. Cats are smart but sometimes they need to be 'shown' where things are & what they do. My cat didn't like the scratch pads, only a scratching post but she was an indoor cat only. I think the kitty door would be easiest if they don't take to the scratching pad. You could always squirt them w/water to get them to stop too & say a firm "no!" when you squirt them or catch them scratching again. Good luck!

I don't have much advice but to clip their claws. Your vet can show you how to do it, or you can take them in to have him do it. I had a cat that scratched stuff up, and I would spray water at her when she was naughty. I'd love to chat about homeschooling an only child. I have a 4 year old girl. Please send me your email! Thanks, R.

You can also hang a bell from the door moulding or even the doorknob. The sound may detour them from scratching. If nothing else, it will let you know they have to go out. We potty trained our puppy like that. Everytime we let him out, we would take his paw and hit the bell. After a while he associated hitting the bell with going out.

Besides catnip, another scent cats are really attracted to is olives. Try throwing a green one on the floor and see how they react to it. Or they might like the black ones better. Pick the one they like best and put a drop or two of juice on whatever area you want to attract them to.